Brothers Under the Sun
by HiddenKindness
Summary: The ANBU had finally cornered their prey. Sasuke, the man whose blood the world wanted, was the man whose time had finally ran out. Rated T for language/violence.


Hello! Me again. The idea for this oneshot originated from a piece of fanart I came across on DA. I won't tell you much about it as it'll give the ending for this piece away, but what I can tell you is that it brought me to tears. The way it portrayed the bonds between Naruto and Sasuke amazed me. Anywho, I hope you like this latest piece of my crappy wrting. I'm happy to get it finished. Also, a quick shout out to Lauren (if you're reading this!) for checking through it quickly for me, despite the fact her never watching the series before. I apologise for coming over all weird when I tried to explain the characters to you. :)

**Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by the magnificent Masashi Kishimoto. I claim no ownership.**

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><p>"Give me the stats." He ordered sternly, never once missing a step between the branches. The fellow ANBU member immediately complied, reciting data he had meticulously memorised before mission departure. With a top class mission such as this one, no written records were allowed to be kept.<p>

"Uchiha Sasuke. S class rogue ninja. Seventeen years of age. Processes the sharigan, as well as its advanced forms, including the mangekyou sharingan. Seen to be able to create and manipulate undying black flames, known as 'Amaterasu'."

"Chakra natures?"

"Fire and lightning. Most commonly used technique is chidori, otherwise known as the Thousand Bird technique, previously used only by one, Hatake Kakashi."

The other ANBU members simply listened, taking in the details of their intended target. Any hesitation, fear or other emotions were of course hidden by their masks, that is, if they showed any response at all on the subject.

And there it was. All a young man's talents condensed into a few neat sentences. Things he'd worked so hard to achieve.

The ANBU continued on through the tree cover in silence, alerting no living thing to their presence. There were six in total, a full squad, but this was one enemy the Hokage knew she couldn't underestimate. Even so, six of the Konoha elite versus a seventeen year old seemed to the inexperienced like an easy win for Konoha, especially now they'd received a tip-off that the former Konoha nin turned rogue was weakened greatly by a fight with Suna. After targeting the Gokage summit, Sasuke was wanted internationally, and hundreds of ninja around the world were out at any one time trying to track him down. The tip-off seemed false at first glance to the Hokage, but this was accompanied by a message from Suna that had sent a report that read that a number of shinobi had been 'taken down' by Sasuke. According to the message from the Kazekage, one shinobi had managed to contact them via messenger bird before he'd died. Said message reported the Uchiha had a severe chest wound, and without treatment would be weakened to a huge extent. It was this that finally convinced the Hokage to send a squad to his last known position to investigate. With Karin in Konoha's custody and therefore no longer by his side, Sasuke, for as far as they knew, would have a harder job finding someone or somewhere to heal him, and such a wound didn't allow a person to travel very far.

After two days of relentless tracking, the ANBU had finally cornered their prey. Sasuke Uchiha, the man whose blood the world wanted, was the man whose time had finally ran out. Battered and bloody, his heavy breathing, no matter how hard he tried to suppress it, gave his position away immediately. As reported, a deep puncture wound to the chest cavity was visible. It was a marvel he was still conscious, never mind standing. His once lilac clothing was stained with what the ANBU guessed with endless amounts of both dried and fresh blood. The leader of the ANBU squad raised his hand in a silent but clear signal; the signal to close in.

* * *

><p><em>Two days previously...<em>

"This one's up to you two." Kakashi said in a serious tone, one his students had rarely witnessed. "You have to understand the risk I'm taking here. If Tsunade-sama knew, I'd-" He released a heavy breath.

"We understand, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said with a nod. "Thank you for this."

"I would have preferred to go with you, but recent events mean the Hokage needs all jounin on hand at all times. Me going off the grid is unwise. It'd be impossible for me to slip away. But for you two, however, may just be able to pull it off. I'll cover for you."

"Thank you, sensei-" Naruto began, but Kakashi raised his hand to interrupt the blonde haired shinobi.

"Just go, before I come to my senses."

Naruto and Sakura turned to each other, and after a final nod, they took off to the trees, slipping past the front gates unnoticed.

Kakashi reached for his pouch, extracted his familiar orange-jacketed book and opened it, not that he'd be able to focus on what was on the pages.

As one of Tsunade's most trusted ninja, he'd been allowed into a confidential meeting discussing the reports regarding Sasuke. Throughout said meeting, even as it drew to a close and the necessary action was being decided, he never once said a word. The meeting ended, and the few select people almost immediately dispersed, as did Kakashi, but not before bowing to his Hokage as a sign of respect. The blank look she gave him played on his mind however. He dismissed it as stress as chose to not follow up on it. He was keen to keep his head down in this matter, for now at least.

After he had found Naruto at Ichiraku's and Sakura just finishing her shift at the hospital, he had proceeded to tell them of Sasuke. He informed them of everything he knew.

It was beyond idiocy to tell them. ANBU's mission was of the highest class – top secret to all but the select few. Telling Naruto and Sakura, despite him believing they needed to know, that they had a _right_ to know, went against all terms of a classified mission.

Rules **always** came first. Lesson one in the academy. Lesson one in ANBU. Lesson one in ROOT.

His father had suffered from this lesson, to the extent that in the end he saw it fit to take his own life.

What the hell had Kakashi just done?

A sudden puff of smoke beside him broke his train of thought. It quickly dissipated to reveal an ANBU member in its wake. Kakashi instantly recognised him, despite his cat mask. The way his shoulders slouched forward ever so slightly made his identity obvious; Kakashi recognised him as a man who had served underneath him when he was still in ANBU. A new recruit who at that time was fresh into the organisation at around about the same time Kakashi had left.

"Hatake Kakashi."

Said ninja remained unresponsive, instead choosing to return his gaze to his book, still not taking in its content.

"Hmm?" He said, feeling it necessary to respond, even if it was just a mumble.

"The Hokage has requested your immediate presence."

* * *

><p>"Hokage-sama," Kakashi said with a bow of respect upon entering her office, considerably late as usual. "How may I be of service?"<p>

Tsunade sat in her chair, an obvious scowl spread across her face. Kakashi had a theory why of course, but thought it safer to remain oblivious to the intense, angered glare.

"Kakashi. I called you here on the subject of Naruto and Sakura." She said, appearing to be struggling at the effort to keep her tone of voice calm, despite the throbbing vein visible on her forehead.

Kakashi rarely got nervous – even in the most dangerous of situations. He could face countless enemies, jutsu and even the occasional raging elderly woman without breaking a sweat, but the way his superior looked down on him was making him reconsider his aloofness.

_Plead ignorance. That's your best bet. _He thought to himself. He swallowed, louder than he intended.

"What's that blonde idiot done now?" He said with a sigh.

"As far as I _know_, nothing out the ordinary." Tsunade muttered.

"So why do you need me, Hokage-sama?"

"Because I can't find him. Or Sakura, for that matter." She said, unknitting her fingers to rub the back of her neck in irritation.

"Have you checked Ichiraku's? Or the hospital, in Sakura's case. Unless Naruto's there because he ate too much ramen again-" Kakashi's words came out at speed that resembled babble, but stopped abruptly when he noticed blonde eyebrow raise. She wasn't buying it.

Tsunade only sighed in response, and turned to her dark haired assistant, who had remained silent up to this point.

"Shizune, would you mind getting me a cup of coffee?"

The woman nodded immediately and made for the door, the small pig resting in her arms startled by her sudden movement. As the door clicked shut, Kakashi turned back to the Hokage.

"Coffee? That's rare for you." He said with a smirk.

Tsunade intertwined her fingers again on the surface of the desk, her earlier scowl returning with a vengeance.

"I add a dash of liquor when she's not looking."

"Ah." Kakashi replied.

"So, would you like to tell me the truth now?"

_Not really. _He thought. _I'd rather keep my head. _"Where do _you_ think they've gone?"

"I know exactly where they've gone. I just need to hear it from you."

Kakashi's lack of reply reassured her suspicion.

"Hatake," She said, her scowl deepening slightly. "You do realise what I can do to you? Imprison you? Strip you of your rank? Withholding information from your Hokage is a very dangerous move. It's considered treason, if I recall correctly."

Kakashi only smirked, if a little nervously, in response. "If you didn't want me to know, why was I present at the meeting?"

The blonde haired woman's anger seemed to dissipate at that. She pushed herself up from her chair and walked to the window behind the desk. There she stood with her back to him and sighed.

"I feel old now. When I was their age, I would have gone after Orochimaru if it meant saving him from his chosen path. But of course, rules are rules. I _knew_ you'd tell them, and I guess a small part of me _wanted_ for you to tell them," She said, a small smile tugging at her lips. "Besides, you're one of my most trusted shinobi. I think you can be present at all meetings, regardless of their subject."

Kakashi could only nod, another slight smirk hidden by his mask.

"Hokage-sama, if I may speak my mind."

Tsunade turned from the window and raised a blonde eyebrow again, gesturing him to continue.

"I learnt a valuable lesson once. One that I have strived to pass on to my students. Those who abandon the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum." He said confidently.

Tsunade, upon hearing his words, turned back to face the window.

"I knew you'd say that." She smiled.

* * *

><p>"That was much harder that I thought it'd be." Naruto said with a sigh.<p>

"They're ANBU. We were lucky to have been able to get half as far as we did." Sakura said, pulling the hood of her travelling cloak up in a small attempt to hide her bright hair colour. Noticing this, Naruto did the same. Colours like pink and yellow could be seen through the trees a mile away. They had chosen not to transform into someone else – if they were caught they'd be too many awkward questions. Plus Naruto always had an uncanny talent for worming out of trouble nowadays.

"Besides, it helped that Kakashi had a rough idea where they were heading." Sakura continued. Her blonde team mate nodded in response. The pair quickly hid their presence from the ANBU, who were twenty or so meters ahead of them. Tsunade, it seemed, was on their side, as there didn't seem to be any sensory ninja among the ANBU. The majority of the six, they guessed, were long range fighters, the most effective for a foe like Sasuke.

Then, a booming voice startled them into a stunned silence.

"We know you're there. Show yourself, or we will make you."

The ANBU leader.

This was it. They'd been discovered. Crap.

Naruto went to move, to reveal himself to them, to give up while they had the chance before they got themselves into a fight, but Sakura grabbed his sleeve suddenly, halting his actions. She remained staring straight ahead, towards the position of the ANBU. She knew something he didn't.

The booming voice continued, seemingly oblivious to their presence. "Come on out…Uchiha Sasuke."

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><p>The tension in the air made it heavy and almost difficult to breathe. All sounds in the forest around them ceased. Birds stopped in their cheerful choruses and even the leaves now fell in complete silence. As nature held its breath, Naruto and Sakura looked at each other with terrified eyes. Minutes, hours even, seemed to pass, whereas in reality it was mere seconds.<p>

After what felt like an eternity, a raspy voice rang out through the trees.

"I'm here."

Sasuke.

After years of chasing, dead ends, false trails and close misses, Uchiha Sasuke had been found…and cornered. His strained breathing began again – he knew there was no point in concealing himself any longer. Normally he'd have a plan, a carefully thought out arrangement of moves, with secondary ideas if anything happened he didn't expect.

Normally though, he didn't have a massive injury to his chest that made him have to put his full concentration on just _breathing_ regularly. Maybe he'd just grown tired of running – had enough of jumping at every sound, and dreading every day he woke up after sleeping in some grotty cave would be his last. Life as a rogue nin was terrible no matter which way you sliced it.

Naruto and Sakura looked on with shocked expressions as their long lost team-mate emerged from behind the cover of a large oak tree. His steps were uneven and pushed, his footprints marked by blood that was running down his trouser legs and soaking into the treads of his sandals. He was visibly paler than usual and shaking from presumably loos of blood. Overall, Sasuke was in a very bad way.

Sakura guessed the only possible way he could still be alive was his young age, peak of physical health and the raw determination that had kept him going over the years.

"We have orders to eliminate you immediately, Uchiha Sasuke. You pose a considerable danger to the Hidden Leaf village and your list of crimes allows the only suitable punishment to be death." The ANBU captain said, little (if any) remorse being shown in his voice. Said leader reached to the holder on his back and drew his short sword. He moved into an attack stance as the rest of the squad removed their weapons as well. Sasuke only smirked.

"Tch."

Naruto turned to his pink haired team-mate. The look in his eyes said it all.

_We have to do something. And fast._

Sakura shook her head, her hand tightening on his sleeve.

_Not yet, Naruto._

Three of the ANBU charged at their target, the leader in front as the other two stayed a step behind him, jumped in erratic paths in an attempt to distract and confuse. The remaining three flickered out of slight, presumably to perform a sneak attack.

Sasuke's eyes bled into red, and with the help of his sharingan, managed to thrust a kunai through the throat of the ANBU captain. Within an additional second and a blur of movement the two behind the leader also lay on the cold ground, dead.

Naruto and Sakura could only look on in shock as Sasuke charged a chidori in his right hand and took out one of the previously hidden ANBU members, the ball of electricity going straight through his chest and out the other side, leaving a strong smell of burnt flesh in the air. Just two remained now. Sasuke pinpointed another to his immediate left and went for his throat with his kunai. He would have succeeded if the twisting of his upper body caused his chest wound to shoot pain though every nerve ending. He flinched, and the ANBU member used his momentary slowness to get behind Sasuke and hold his short sword to his throat.

"Wait!" Naruto shouted, suddenly jumping up from his hiding place and jumping into the clearing a few metres from Sasuke and the ANBU member. Sakura was right behind him.

"We were half expecting you to show up, Uzumaki. Didn't really think you'd have the balls, though," He turned to Sakura. "Didn't expect the apprentice of the Fifth to commit treason too. This is a surprise." The cat mask of the elite ninja hid any reaction in his face, but his words seemed laced with venom.

The blade the ANBU held was pressed slightly harder to the skin on Sasuke's neck, and after a second a thin trickle of blood began to soak into the collar of his ripped shirt. Sasuke's heavy breathing continued, if it had really stopped. His eyes were closed in exhaustion but Naruto was sure Sasuke knew he was there.

"This isn't treason," Sakura said sternly. "We're doing what is right."

"As am I." Said the ANBU. "Him," He said, putting pressure on the blade held to Sasuke's throat, "He is a traitor. Every hidden village in the world wants his head on a pike."

The final ANBU member finally showed himself beside his team mate.

"Please understand," He said. "We will have to stop you if you interfere."

Naruto shook his head. "I won't let this happen."

The ANBU member not holding Sasuke stepped forward, his short sword raised in a warning.

The first ANBU removed his weapon from the Uchiha's throat and with a swift kick knocked Sasuke to the ground. He lay on his back, chest heaving in pain. There he lay, helpless, simply waiting for death to take him.

The ANBU now held his sword directly over Sasuke's already bloodied chest in both hands, above his heart, ready to deal the final blow. He raised his arms and brought down the blade.

* * *

><p>A flash of orange. A feminine scream.<p>

The sound of pierced flesh.

All time and movement in the clearing slowed to a near stop.

That is, all movement apart from Naruto. And that of the sword originally attempting to skewer Sasuke.

The momentum of the blade meant that nothing seemed to stop it. It kept travelling down towards where Sasuke lay on his back. Nothing was able to stop its path. It didn't slow when it entered Naruto's back. It didn't slow when it pierced several vital organs. It didn't slow when it exited through the centre of his chest. It still didn't slow when the blade's already bloodied tip punctured Sasuke's chest as well.

The sword only stopped when it had pinned them both to the ground.

A long second passed.

For some reason, whatever that may be, neither of them felt any pain.

And there they lay for what seemed like forever, their choked breathing being the only thing breaking the silence between them.

Another second.

Sasuke's face fell into one of questioning.

"Why?"

Naruto only smirked in response, a line of blood spilling through his closed lips to drip down his chin.

"You know me, Sasuke," He said, pausing unintentionally to splutter blood onto Sasuke's cheek. "I don't think these things through."

There was what seemed to be chaos evolving around them. Loud voices of what they guessed to be those of the two ANBU members rang out in the distance. Naruto and Sasuke could hear them, but did not care to listen. Dark, unreadable eyes were fixed on expressive cobalt blue.

They could both feel it – the icy claws of death dragging them both inch by inch from the world. They didn't fight it, instead welcomed it.

The voices grew steadily quieter, still there, but felt so far away now. Both of their breathing patterns had long since become irregular and strained. They both felt only warmth, the warmth of their blood mixing around the cold metal of the blade that skewered them both and on the ground below them.

With a deep, shaky breath, Naruto used the last of his strength to move his arm to his jacket pocket. His grasp fell upon the treasured item he'd carried for so long. The object that symbolised so much. The object that had kept him fighting. He slowly withdrew it from his pocket, and with trembling fingers placed it into the blood-soaked palm of his friend.

Sasuke's headband.

Naruto had kept it, all these years, since their fight at the Valley of the End, with the sole intent on returning it. Now he could.

Sasuke recognised it immediately, and with a soft smirk brought the metal plate between them. He held it over his heart, the blue material beginning to darken as it soaked up the blood.

And there they stayed, for what amount of time neither of them could tell, staring into each other's eyes, sharing a smile for the first time in years.

The colours of the world around them gradually bled away; leaving them in a place here they'd met and talked several times before. The endless space, filled only with the soft twinkling lights of thousands of stars. In this world there was no up or down, no right or wrong, and most importantly, no burdens to be carried.

Here, in the world created deep in their conscious, they were just Naruto and Sasuke.

There was no boy with a vengeful demon locked within him, and there was no boy whose purpose only was to achieve his lifelong goal of revenge. They were just two young men. Two friends.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Sasuke lifted his head a little to speak.

"I thought you wanted to become Hokage. To prove yourself?"

To this, Naruto only smirked.

"Don't you remember, Sasuke? All those years ago? What I said back then still stands. What use is a Hokage who can't even save his closest friend?"

The silence returned. The stars surrounding them continued in their individual journeys, unchanged by the words of the two boys. They continued to stream across the endless horizon, leaving only a trail of light in their wakes.

"You don't have to die for me, Naruto. You could have forgotten about me, and moved on with your life. You could have become Hokage and had a family. You could have had children with as stupid a hair style as yours." Sasuke said, his voice displaying an amount of emotion greater than Naruto had ever heard him use. Naruto's face fell into a toothy grin.

"But what about you? Yours hair looks like a duck trying to take a shit."

At this, Sasuke's mouth curled a little at the side, trying to hide his smirk.

"I said something else that day." Naruto continued.

"I remember." The raven replied.

"I said when it came to it, we'd both die," He smiled. "Looks like I was right."

"Hn."

"Sasuke, without you, I wouldn't be where I am today. You have driven me to become stronger, and without you pushing me I would have given up long ago. For that, I thank you." Naruto grinned.

"So what now?"

"Now, we die together as friends. As brothers." He said, taking a step closer to Sasuke.

Sasuke did the same, and after a few paces the pair where stood face to face, only a short distance between them.

They each raised a hand, and hooked their index and middle fingers with the hand of the other, as they'd done long ago. And for one of the first time in what felt like a lifetime, Sasuke smiled. Not a malevolent grin, or a fake smile like those frequently demonstrated by a certain socially troubled artist, but a true, honest smile.

"As brothers?" Naruto asked.

"As brothers." Sasuke replied.

It'd taken so long, but as they each looked into the gaze of his team mate turned best friend, they saw many things. They saw acceptance, respect, and most importantly, friendship. A bond that would never be truly severed.

"…Dobe."

As they drifted from consciousness, neither of them knowing or caring where it would take them. They both, however, knew it was worth it, to die looking into the eyes of the one you call your brother.

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><p>And there we have it. Hope you enjoyed it. The beginning in my opinion was the hardest part to write because by setting the scene I had to use fixed plot points and by the time you read this they probably will have altered the real storyline. In that case, I guess this story could be a little AUish. Ah well. By the way, the 'endless space' I described with the stars around them can be seen in the anime, though I'm unsure if it is the same in the manga. I really must catch up with the manga, heh.<p>

**Anyway, I'd love to hear your feedback or constructive critisms. Please review and help me improve! - Léa**


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